Manager Category Management

About Kennametal
With over 85 years as an industrial technology leader, Kennametal Inc. delivers productivity to customers through materials science, tooling and wear-resistant solutions. Customers across aerospace and defense, earthworks, energy, general engineering and transportation turn to Kennametal to help them manufacture with precision and efficiency. Learn more at kennametal.com. Follow @Kennametal: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Manager Category Management

Location - Pittsburgh, PA or Latrobe, PA

Job Summary

The Manager Category Management leads an External Manufacturing - Metal Cutting category, managing strategic sourcing to ensure reliable supply, cost competitiveness, and compliance across all regions. This role develops and executes sourcing strategies, negotiates key supplier agreements, and drives value through effective supplier management and market analysis. Partnering closely with regional procurement, Engineering, Operations, EH&S, Finance, and Manufacturing teams, the manager ensures alignment between global objectives and local operational need and also oversees supplier performance, manages market volatility, and supports sustainability, safety, and process improvement initiatives to deliver long-term value and operational efficiency across the organization for the category.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Leads the development, implementation, and governance of global sourcing strategies for an External Manufacturing - Metal Cutting category to ensure supply reliability, cost competitiveness, and compliance.
• Manages the full lifecycle of sourcing activities, including supplier selection, contract negotiation, performance optimization, risk mitigation, and total cost of ownership analysis.
• Collaborates with regional procurement teams (Americas, EMEA, APAC, Latin America, and India) to align local execution with global strategies and ensure operational support and compliance.
• Partners with Engineering, Operations, EH&S, Finance, and Manufacturing to align business requirements with sourcing strategies that support process reliability, safety, and sustainability.
• Drives continuous improvement in supplier performance through proactive relationship management, on-time delivery, quality, and service-level enhancements.
• Analyzes market conditions and key cost drivers to identify sourcing opportunities, efficiency gains, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Ensures compliance with internal procurement policies, external regulations, and corporate governance requirements.
• Monitors and reports category performance against procurement metrics and business objectives, including cost savings, working capital efficiency, and inflation mitigation.
• Proactively gathers stakeholder requirements and translates them into sourcing solutions that meet technical, commercial, and schedule needs.
• Supports process improvement and strategic business initiatives by advising on supplier capabilities, sustainability practices, and market trends.

Requirements

• Experience: 5+ years in Strategic Sourcing required with 3+ years of Global Strategic Sourcing preferred
• Bachelors degree required, preferred major in Supply Chain, Business, or Engineering
• MBA preferred
• Maintains the highest standards of integrity, ethics, safety, and full compliance with corporate Code of Conduct and global sourcing policies; serves as a role model for ethical supplier relationships.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional sourcing initiatives and influence global and regional stakeholders without direct authority; strong verbal, written, and executive-level communication skills.
• Deep understanding of manufacturing operations, production processes, and how capital investments drive operational performance and efficiency.
• Skilled in aligning procurement strategies with internal business goals, understanding how CAPEX decisions support long-term business objectives and operational excellence.
• Ability to navigate complex global organizations, build relationships with internal customer groups (Engineering, Operations, Finance, and Project Management), and incorporate user requirements into sourcing decisions.
• Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making skills; proficient in ERP systems (e.g., SAP/Oracle), e-sourcing platforms, and leveraging procurement data to drive insights and priorities.
• Supports project planning and execution by collaborating on project timelines, budgets, and supplier readiness to ensure delivery of capital projects on schedule and within cost targets.
• Solid understanding of key financial concepts including capital budgeting, cost structures, total cost of ownership, invoicing, and accounts payable processes. Uses financial acumen to evaluate and influence sourcing decisions.
• CPSM Certification preferred
• Proficiency: MS Office, Excel, Word & PowerPoint
• SAP experience preferred

Equal Opportunity Employer